Meal of the Year

I’m sitting with cloying palms and dripping brow following a barrage with winemakers the night before, and here come eight varieties of oysters — saline flats and nervy fines de claires among them — from the clutch of a tattooed butch, who offers them with brio and insight into sea temperatures and harvesting schedules, not to mention the amount of skin contact our iconoclastic Riesling has seen.

Irreverent, visceral and knowledgeable — the type of service I treasure and, to an extent, that is rare in Japan. An entire lamb shoulder served to perfection with green beans follows. Diners, from jerseyed football fans to elderly couples dressed to the nines, seep out into Grand Final day from Cumulus Inc. in Melbourne (http://cumulusinc.com.au).